John's GW 200

Johnny 99

Winner - POTM October 2018
Platinum Member
Ok, I never intended to do a progress thread as I never had much in the way of plans for the car, but that seems to have changed, though I'm not planning anything radical. I've posted on a couple of things I've done before, but might as well get things in one thread. Plus there are going to be a couple of wee things happening in the next month or so, & who knows what'll take my fancy in the future?

To start with, here's the car as I picked it up on 20/09/14.

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I enjoyed the car like this for a couple of years as a weekend toy, latterly started doing track days & had no real desire to change it in any way.

When I started to track day the car I upgraded the front brakes with Brembo HC discs & Ferodo DS2500 pads & had braided lines all round. I was happy.

However rewind back to February 2005 when I bought one of the last Alfa 156s as an ex demonstrator car, with only 75 recorded miles. Shortly after replacing the 156 Alfa introduced the Q2 differential which was pretty much like a Quaife differential in operation. These were highly rated by the Alfisti & it was possible retro fit them to 156 diesels & V6s, which many folk did, particularly those with GTAs. This planted a seed in the back of my mind, though I never did get around to converting the Alfa.

When I was looking for a Clio 200 I was aware that Meganes with the cup chassis had a similar diff, but mistakenly thought the Perfohub on the Clio was the same thing. Whilst I loved the way the Clio drove the idea of a Quaife diff was an itch that needed scratching so in December 2016 the car went off to independent Renault specialists Rentec in Edinburgh to have a Quaife diff fitted, & whilst there I got them to fit a Cobra resonated cat back exhaust & sport cat.

Having had this fitted along with popping in a K&N air filter element it was time for a remap to suit. The RS197/200 Facebook group were having a rolling road day at RS Tuning in Leeds so I arranged to go & meet up with them & have a remap at the same time.

From memory the car made 189bhp, which doesn't sound amazing, but of the 30/40 cars attending the rolling road day the vast majority made 187-189 regardless of modifications so I guess RS Tuning's rollers are on the pessimistic side with their readings. I'd be interested in sticking the car on someone else's rollers, such as Engine Dynamics to see what reading I got. Far more importantly though, the car was so much better to drive. Smoother revving & no flat spots. Very happy.

I bought the Clio as a car with a good specification, with a good history - I have every receipt from new including the original bill of sale, & also it had only covered just over 9000 miles, but I have never been a fan of the black & white look, even though I know it is popular. I decided to add some much needed colour, but in a way that would be easily reversible. I started trawling the internet for graphics & ended up with a design which whilst being individual has also been described as with a nod to the Megane R26 r, which I think is fair.

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So this is how the car stands today.

HOWEVER I have always thought the wheels look a tad lost in the wheel arches & as I can't really justify new wheels with a different offset a package from Demon Tweaks arrived today with 4 Eibach, bolt to hub 20mm wheel spacers. I know spacers divide opinion, but I really don't see how they can put much more strain on the wheel bearings than wheels with a different offset.

I'll post some pictures once I have fitted them.

Next, at the beginning of November I am off to Castle Combe for a track day with RSUK, and as I will be in the area I have booked the car in to Cooksport in Bristol to have a set of their 30mm lowering springs fitted along with full geometry check & set up. I've read good things about these springs & I'm looking forward to getting the car sitting nicely without being silly low.

There's a thread on here with a Storm Grey 200 with 20mm spacers & the same Cooksport springs & I like the way the car sits, and the owner seemed happy with the driving manners too. Thread title "Cooksport springs fitted on my Storm Grey Clio 200"

Again I will post pictures once they're on.

No more plans at the moment. FAMOUS LAST WORDS!!! But at least now you have a progress thread so all updates will be together.
 
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Bloody hell John!!!

Awesome! And about time!

Well pleased to see this go up. Always loved your car.

And famous last words indeed. Let's see how it goes!

Hope the new mods work out well for you fella.
 
Ok, I never intended to do a progress thread as I never had much in the way of plans for the car, but that seems to have changed, though I'm not planning anything radical. I've posted on a couple of things I've done before, but might as well get things in one thread. Plus there are going to be a couple of wee things happening in the next month or so, & who knows what'll take my fancy in the future?

To start with, here's the car as I picked it up on 20/09/14.

View attachment 115249

View attachment 115276

I enjoyed the car like this for a couple of years as a weekend toy, latterly started doing track days & had no real desire to change it in any way.

When I started to track day the car I upgraded the front brakes with Brembo HC discs & Ferodo DS2500 pads & had braided likes all round. I was happy.

However rewind back to February 2005 when I bought one of the last Alfa 156s as an ex demonstrator car, with only 75 recorded miles. Shortly after replacing the 156 Alfa introduced the Q2 differential which was pretty much like a Quaife differential in operation. These were highly rated by the Alfisti & it was possible retro fit them to 156 diesels & V6s, which many folk did, particularly those with GTAs. This planted a seed in the back of my mind, though I never did get around to converting the Alfa.

When I was looking for a Clio 200 I was aware that Meganes with the cup chassis had a similar diff, but mistakenly thought the Perfohub on the Clio was the same thing. Whilst I loved the way the Clio drove the idea if s Quaife diff was an itch that needed scratching so in December 2016 the car went off to independent Renault specialists Rentec in Edinburgh to have a Quaife diff fitted, & whilst there I got them to fit a Cobra resonated cat back exhaust & sport cat.

Having had this fitted along with popping in a K&N air filter element it was time for a remap to suit. The RS197/200 Facebook group were having a rolling road day at RS Tuning in Leeds so I arranged to go & meet up with them & have a remap at the same time.

From memory the car made 189bhp, which doesn't sound amazing, but of the 30/40 cars attending the rolling road day the vast majority made 187-189 regardless of modifications so I guess RS Tuning's rollers are on the pessimistic side with their readings. I'd be interested in sticking the car on someone else's rollers, such as Engine Dynamics to see what reading I got. Far more importantly though, the car was so much better to drive. Smoother revving & no flat spots. Very happy.

I bought the Clio as a car with a good specification, with a good history - I have every receipt from new including the original bill of sale, & also it had only covered just over 9000 miles, but I have never been a fan of the black & white look, even though I know it is popular. I decided to add some much needed colour, but in a way that would be easily reversible. I started trawling the internet for graphics & ended up with a design which whilst being individual has also been described as with a nod to the Megane R26 r, which I think is fair.

View attachment 115284

View attachment 115286

View attachment 115287

So this is how the car stands today.

HOWEVER I have always thought the wheels look a tad lost in the wheel arches & as I can't really justify new wheels with a different offset a package from Demon Tweaks arrived today with 4 Eibach, bolt to hub 20mm wheel spacers. I know spacers divide opinion, but I really don't see how they can put much more strain on the wheel bearings than wheels with a different offset.

I'll post some pictures once I have fitted them.

Next, at the beginning of November I am off to Castle Combe for a track day with RSUK, and as I will be in the area I have booked the car in to Cooksport in Bristol to have a set of their 30mm lowering springs fitted along with full geometry check & set up. I've read good things about these springs & I'm looking forward to getting the car sitting nicely without being silly low.

There's a thread on here with a Storm Grey 200 with 20mm spacers & the same Cooksport springs & I like the way the car sits, and the owner seemed happy with the driving manners too. Thread title "Cooksport springs fitted on my storm grey 200"

Again I will post pictures once they're on.

No more plans at the moment. FAMOUS LAST WORDS!!! But at least now you have a progress thread so all updates will be together.

GOOD STUFF.....

My goodness Jon !

It hadn’t even crossed my mind you didn’t actually have a thread for your car. I just ‘presumed’ updates happened very infrequently !

So....

GREAT to see this fantastically specced car documented at long last.

Looking forward to the ‘stance’ pics upcoming. Gonna look ace. And the springs should suit your use a treat.

Still semi-contemplating corresponding R26 coloured wheels at some point ?
 
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GOOD STUFF.....

My goodness Jon !

It hadn’t even crossed my mind you didn’t actually have a thread for your car. I just ‘presumed’ updates happened very infrequently !

So....

GREAT to see this fantastically specced car documented at long last.

Looking forward to the ‘stance’ pics upcoming. Gonna look ace. And the springs should suit your use a treat.

Still semi-contemplating corresponding R26 coloured wheels at some point ?

Jury is still out on red wheels Shuv as I think it looks ok now & don't want to go O.T.T.on the red. I have 2 sets of Speedlines, one currently with winter tyres, that may become track wheels with PS2 or similar, so I might possibly get one set done at some point to see what I think.
 
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happy days you have started your own progress thread..glad you decided to do so..
car looks amazing and i've enjoyed reading about all your mods..your remap sounds about right..think it doesnt really matter what it says on the screen as long as the drive ability has improved..
keep us updated
 
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Great stuff John. Car looks in great nick and certainly love the decals you’ve added.
Spacers and springs will add to the overall look and springs should help out on track!!
Enjoy
 
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about time! I remember seeing this car at Rentec in Edinburgh and it looked amazing, especially the interior!
 
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Awesome Johnny - love your car mate!

The seats are just immense. Sure you will like the springs, they are well reviewed.
 
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Interested to hear your thoughts on Cooksport - I had a quote to have my ast's installed and setup by them, what date is the RSUK track day only I live only a few minutes from combe so may pop down if i'm free.
 
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Interested to hear your thoughts on Cooksport - I had a quote to have my ast's installed and setup by them, what date is the RSUK track day only I live only a few minutes from combe so may pop down if i'm free.
Track day is Nov 3rd. Be good to meet you & put a face to the name if you have time to pop over.
 
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Damn will be working on the friday so wont be able to go, keep us updated on the Cooksport experience!
 
View attachment 115294

Would have taken too much time to remove the glossy finish a bit, so they look a little metallic but it's close enough.

If it was mine, I'd do it in a heart beat,.
Mes! You're making me want to spend my money! Thanks for that, I really do like the look of it. Now to think how I can get it done without Glenda noticing! (Bit hard that, even she would spot a colour change).
She knows nothing about the visit to Cooksport. I'm "breaking the journey down" so I'm fresh for the track day. Just so happens I'm breaking the journey in Bristol at Cooksport the day before I go on track!:thumb:

Shuv has posted on Facebook that if I go red he'll go orange and that's an added incentive as I'd love to see his car on orange wheels. Maybe you could do a photo shop for him & give him a nudge.

I need to leave the wheels for a bit, but you've certainly put them back on my list of things to do!
 
Mes! You're making me want to spend my money! Thanks for that, I really do like the look of it. Now to think how I can get it done without Glenda noticing! (Bit hard that, even she would spot a colour change).
She knows nothing about the visit to Cooksport. I'm "breaking the journey down" so I'm fresh for the track day. Just so happens I'm breaking the journey in Bristol at Cooksport the day before I go on track!:thumb:

Shuv has posted on Facebook that if I go red he'll go orange and that's an added incentive as I'd love to see his car on orange wheels. Maybe you could do a photo shop for him & give him a nudge.

I need to leave the wheels for a bit, but you've certainly put them back on my list of things to do!

Sorry mate!

:smiley:

(not sorry!)

Ha, the things we have to do huh? "No it's always been like that" probably isn't going to cut it.

You could do it on the cheap with plastidip first. Then she probably wouldn't notice when you get them done properly.

"That plastidip has lasted well huh?"

:smiley:
 
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